Can You Keep A Secret?
by XxMeggyxX
Summary: Taylor,Lauren and Ryder are far from ordinary as it is, but when it gets weirder how will they cope? When you're trying your best to fit in with the world, it doesn't help growing a tail. It's a lot harder than you think avoiding every little drop of water. Join them in their whirlwind life. Now you know about the girls being mermaids, tell me can you keep a secret?
1. Unusual Events

**A.N: Ok guys thank you for all who submitted a character. It's crazy how many replies regarding the OC spot I got, in just a few days. Now for the selected characters check my profile. For their character profiles check out my profile and for more of the latest news on the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any H20:Just add Water place,character,setting or any story line which may be used briefly in this story.**

**Taylor's P.O.V**

_01.__ Unusual Events_

The sun shone brightly through my cherry red curtains in the early hours of the morning awakening me from my slumber.

Groggily, I squinted toward the left me and took a glance at the time-7:35am. That gave me a bit over an hour to get ready for school. I got out of bed and walked towards my wardrobe.

"GEMMA!" I screamed in annoyance.

I emptied out half my wardrobe and all of my chester drawers to try and find my shorts. Guess what? My dark wash denim shorts disappeared...yet again. Gemma should just buy her own.

"Stop that shouting, Taylor. We'll get complaints off the neighbours," My mum came in and handed me my dinner money.

I smiled gratefully at my mum. Once I heard my mum's footsteps fade, I stormed into Gemma's room in my Cookie Monster pyjamas with a wad of cash being waved in the air and my acne cream on my face. To make it worse I wasn't exactly rocking the bed head look either.

"See this is what I have to live with," Gemma laughed taking pictures of me looking like an idiot.

"I feel sorry for you already," Gemma's friend (Chelsea) giggled.

I walked out embarrassed and returned to my room in a sulk. How are we twins and yet I always have to act like the older one?

"WAIT!" I heard Gemma call, "We wouldn't want anybody getting hold of these photos now would we. Especially people like...I don't know...Ryan?"

Ryan was the local bad boy. He was prone to trying to embarrass me especially, but he was ever so hot. I had a huge crush on him since I was like 9. If he got that photo I would not only be mortified, but would never live it down.

"Fine," I sighed.

I handed her 30 dollars. Gemma just smirked and Chelsea just pointed at me, whispering something into Gemma's ear.

Pouting, I returned to my room and decided the shorts could wait. Instead I improvised by putting on the first dress I could see in my wardrobe. It was a sky blue daisy number and it would do, it was only school. I flopped on some white sandals, then quickly I put my hair into a messy bun then put on my usual make-up: lip gloss, foundation, mascara and eye shadow.

With me being ready, I ran down stairs grabbed an apple along with my school bag.

"Bye!" I waved quickly to my parents and grandma.

I knew they would want me to wait for Gemma and as mean as it is, Gemma is horrible. Going to school with her would only give her a chance to blackmail me even more.

oOoOo

Once I arrived at school, I was sitting on a bench seeing if I could recognise anybody from previous year. Unfortunately, my year was called to an assembly. I went to the assembly hall only to be bored to death or so I thought.

"Children, I got some exciting news. Before I tell you the news, I would like to introduce a new student. I trust you'll be kind to Lauren..." Miss Shannon paused.

"Jones," Lauren whispered.

I looked a Lauren closely. She had loose blonde beach curls in her medium length hair and had her in a pony tail. Her skin was quite pale. Very pale in fact. Her clothes were quite simple. Lauren had some egg shell white 3/4 jeans on with a purple and blue stripy top on along with some sneakers. Over the top, she wore a bright red raincoat.

"Jones," Miss Shannon finished.

The year said 'WELCOME!' in unison before Miss Shannon continued.

"Now we are going on a school trip to Mako Island. It was a surprise to myself, but how fantastic? Don't worry Mrs Allis is phoning all your parents to inform them. Now I'll call out your names and tell you what group you're in..." Miss Shannon rambled on.

In the end, I found out I was with the new girl Lauren and Ryder. Lauren seemed quite shy and Ryder is very loud. I am not sure how well my group will work. They do opposites attract though...

oOoOo

What a day I chose to wear flats and a dress, aye? A bit more warning regarding clothes would of been nice, but what can you do? Stomping through muddy fields in a sun dress isn't exactly pleasant, it was too late to go back now though.

I suppose it wasn't too bad, the trek around Mako that is. I chatted to Lauren and found out a bit about her and Ryder would add a snarky remark every now and then. Our group was pretty good. We had a few challenges and followed this little animal trail. Of course we weren't just hiking around Mako Island at least I wasn't.

So, I heard all these rumours about mermaid sightings on Mako. Now that is just bizarre-mermaids! I decided I am going to wonder off from my group towards where most sightings have been seen and prove that mermaids are a figment of people's imagination.

"Where are you going?" Ryder inquired.

Ryder caught me red handed.

"Nowhere in particular, does it concern you?" I asked.

"You have to stick with the group. You're going North. This map tells us the waterfall we need to find is South," Ryder replied.

"Since when do you follow the rules?" I rudely replied.

"Since your heading towards shark central that is!" Ryder smirked, "Go see if care. Just watch out for the...Never mind if you're so tough you'll know about the Manga Shark."

Manga Shark? Now I was curious. I raised an eyebrow towards Ryder.

"Great teeth as big as the Empire State Building. The shark itself is the biggest in the world. Blood covers it face. It can rip you into one piece. Just those big yellow eyes will make you want to kill yourself. Though you probably knew that... Bye then!" Ryder said dramatically.

It seemed so unrealistic, but scary.

"Will you come with me?" I questioned Ryder.

"To protect you?" Ryder scoffed.

I nodded weakly. She scared me, I needed to go but not alone. I couldn't go alone anymore.

"Fine. Let's go," Ryder trooped off.

We walked and walked and walked and walked until I thought my feet would drop off literally, though in reality we only walked a few feet. It was annoying, but true. It took so long because we were trying to stay low. We didn't want Lauren to see us. It would much easier if I went mermaid spotting alone. Sadly, Ryder caught me then scared me.

Suddenly, I heard a light snapping sound when I was walking. I stepped on a twig. A big twig and the snap was louder than it first seemed.

"Shhhhhhh!" Ryder hushed me.

I mouthed 'sorry' though it was too late.

"Are you leaving me? Are you going back home? I am scared of the dark. Don't go! Please guys. Anyway it's 5:30 and we need to meet at the waterfall by 6. I can't lose you. Please. I hate the dark. Don't be mean. I am easily scared," Lauren said wheezing.

"DAMN! She caught us Tay! Cancel the private jet. I told you we should of gone for the magic carpet, the much more discrete way of getting back to our houses rather than I don't know...going back with school!" Ryder said sarcastically.

Lauren hung her head in shame. She obviously didn't like being wrong. I offered a comforting smile, despite it being quite funny. Lauren didn't seemed the joke kind Ryder meant well. She only wanted to lighten up the mood.

"Tag along. We're just going for a little explore over here first," I told Lauren.

"But we should be getting back. Anything could be lurking behind those bushes," Lauren took two steps back.

"Like the big bad wolf! Oh look you're wearing red coat as well," Ryder snorted with laughter.

The colour drained in Lauren's face.

"If anything it's the evil witch coming to get Ryder," I smiled.

"Let's just go," Ryder decided.

Lauren walked along with us. We jogged for a bit, we ran for a minute and then we walked. We was bored. We just walked. We just jogged. We just ran for a bit, never looking back once.

oOoOo

"Where are we going? " Lauren asked curiously.

Ryder pointed East, I pointed North and we both said that way. It was like a comedy sketch. I then pointed East and Ryder pointed North. We done that for a few minutes.

"I thought we were going North," I hissed.

"That is North," Ryder pointed East.

I stood where Ryder was and that was North from that position.

"I think we're lost," I laughed nervously.

Ryder shrugged it off like no biggie. She was cool like that. Her mum went Mako when she was younger and knew it like the back of her hand. Hopefully that was passed onto Ryder-a sense of direction.

Lauren was biting her nails and crying on the ground in a ball. She going on about how we was going to die. She was reck, pacing back and forth saying that our survival rate is low and all that.

I was just in shock and scared. My expression was dull, the colour gone in my face. After all it was my fault we got lost. I bet everyone will be looking for us now. Search parties- the lot. If we die, the blame is on me.

After a few minutes, in the dim light I saw Ryder's lip curve into a smile.

"I got my phone! I can ring my mum," Ryder patted her pocket.

I was unbelievably happy. We're saved. I was just praying Ryder's mum would pick up.

"We're not meant to have phones. The teachers said," Lauren waggled her finger at Ryder and tutted.

"Do you do everything the school says? " Ryder questioned.

Lauren nodded slowly.

"So if the school said you wasn't aloud to wear clothes, would you?" Ryder joked.

Lauren huffed.

"Well if Ryder didn't have the phone we wouldn't be saved, would we?" I said.

"Doesn't matter anyway. Lauren jinxed it-no signal," Ryder explained.

We all sighed together.

"Come on. We can just carry on walking," Lauren looked disappointed.

Together, we all hiked onwards. We was utterly lost more than before now. We was like Hansel and Gretal. I only hope no wicked witch is waiting for me, though I could so with some food. My tummy growled like a vicious dog.

"AHHHHHHHH!" I heard a faint scream.

"Who is it?" Ryder called.

I heard a soft whimper. Overtime, the whimper grew louder. I then put a name to the voice. Lauren.

"It's Lauren," I stated.

I couldn't see in the dense darkness anymore, so it was as if I was talking to thin air.

"I'll go and get her. Ryder you stay here. It looks steep, get a grappling hook or something to help us back up," I slid down the hole.

"Grappling hooks are all over mysterious islands. Look there's one falling from the sky. Oh look it's next to that flying pig," Ryder mumbled.

oOoOo

Once I reached the bottom, I could just about make out a dark figure. I knew it was Lauren, so I embraced her in a big hug.

"I think I broken my leg," Lauren cried.

"I am sure it's fine," I placed my hand on her shoulder.

I could see Lauren was quite sensitive, easily scared so I needed to comfort her.

"Ryder, I was right! It's too steep so could you-" I was cut off.

"Could I come down to you and help you? Sure," Ryder finished.

Ryder slid down the hole in the same fashion as me.

"I was going to say stay there while we find a way out," I corrected her.

I saw Lauren's hand point to the left of me. She whispered into my ear the way out. I followed her hand only to see a weird tunnel leading somewhere. I went through. Ryder noticed too. In a bridal style, Ryder cupped her hands to pick up Lauren (still claiming she had a broken leg).

Where the tunnel lead us was amazing. There was this strange turquoise pool of water surrounded by these black, flat stones. The cave walls were rough, yet beautiful. I gazed up, to only see that there was a little circular hole at the top of the cave. It was like a...

"A volcano..." Ryder almost read my mind.

"I sure hope it's dormant!" Lauren voice wobbled.

Now we just had to find a way to get out. Luckily, quick thinking Ryder found a way out.

"We can swim out! Should I go and see how long of a swim it is?" Ryder noted.

"NOOOOOO! There's loads of sharks surrounding the reef. It's late as well. We should stick together," Lauren suggested nervously.

We all agreed. We was eager to get home though and I didn't even get any proof about mermaids!

Ryder stepped in first, I followed and together we lifted Lauren in. Tightly, I squeezed Lauren's hands to reassure her I was with her.

"Ready?" I whispered to both of them.

They nodded.

As we swam out, the full moon landed directly over the volcano top and then magic happened. Sparkles floated upwards, little glitter pieces danced around each of us. Once the moon left the hole, it all stopped. It was like a big build up to something, but I don't know what.

After about 30 seconds or so, we all came out the other end of the cave safe and sound.

"How weird is it the moon was directly over the hole?" I wondered out loud.

The girls agreed it was odd.

"It can be our special place. The moon pool. There is a pool of water, the moon goes directly over it. This is just our special place forever," Lauren explained.

Moon pool...Catchy I must admit, but strange. Hmmm.

"What about those bubbles?" Ryder added.

"They were magical," I commented.

"Cool!" Ryder said.

"More like freaky," Lauren told us quietly.

We laughed at this. We laughed at our day. We had so much fun that was until the water police hoisted us up towards our angry parents.

**A.N: There is the first chapter. Please review so I know if you like it or not. I hope to update soon for you guys. I lost this chap 4 times so it might not be as good as the first time. Now I just want to say two things before I say bye...**

**1. Each chapter will be a different person's P.O.V for example...1st Chap-Taylor's P.O.V 2nd Chap- Ryder's P.O.V 3rd Chap- Lauren's P.O.V**

**2. I am looking for a beta for this story for grammar help so I know I am not good with it so don't worry I am looking for one.**

**Bye and remember...keep swimming!**


	2. A Splish And A Splash

**A.N: While I am here I would like to thank all the support for this story. Whether you left a review, sent me a PM, submitted a character, followed or whatever it means loads.**

**Disclaimer: I will never own H2O: Just Add Water and never have.**

**Ryder's P.O.V**

_02. A Splish And A Splash_

"Here you go," I said to my dad, Zane, placing the final of the early morning deliveries for the café that he ran with my mother on the counter. My parents had run Rikki's Café ever since they were seniors in high school. I now worked alongside them - part time, obviously - making smoothies and such, as well as collecting orders every few days before school begun. And do you know what that last part meant? I had to wake up even earlier! Yay - not.

"Thanks darling," my dad said, kissing me on the top of my head. "Go and get ready for school now. Your stuff is in my office."

I smiled at him gratefully before heading to the office. The uniform for the café was just a black apron and my school didn't have a dress code, so after taking the apron off and slinging it onto a chair with worn blue cushions, my attire was ready. I had already filled my school bag with the textbooks and essential teenage items that I needed, so I was ready to go straight away after signing for the deliveries.

I picked up my bag, after double checking that I had all of my belongings, then exited the office, ready to leave just before the café opened. Unfortunately, I was a split second too late, and found myself getting caught up in the morning breakfast rush, which consisted of people quickly scoffing down some food and a smoothie just before they dashed off to work, or grabbing a coffee and a muffin to drink and eat on their way to work. And of course, it was just my luck that a new waitress who was perhaps a little jumpy collided with the door as I pushed it open, causing a spillage which I slipped on. Fantastic (note the sarcasm)! My entire outfit was ruined, and I was late for school - again! If I was late one more time, my teacher would make my parents come to school for a formal meeting on my intolerant behaviour!

"Well this day is off to a great start," I mumbled to myself, once again in a sarcastic manner.

I stood up and ran to the supply closet to find a towel that I could use to dry myself off a little, quickly in order to not be too late for school. In consequence for my speed, I dropped my school bag on the way. It was unlucky for me, being as there were a few things in there that the prying eyes of my parents would be better off not seeing, but I continued on my way anyway. I would come back for my bag soon, hopefully before my parents saw anything I didn't want them to. But what was even unluckier than dropping my bag was that it was in vain, for there were no towels in the closet. I sighed, and decided I would just have to allow myself to dry naturally. So I began to leave the closet, but as I was walking out, I fell backwards.

"What the heck?" I muttered to myself; it wasn't like me to trip over my own two feet. That was when I saw… it. As I registered the scaly bronze tail that lay before me, in place of my own legs, my mouth formed a perfect circle of shock.

In front of my very eyes was a fish tail, but not just any fish tail. A fish tail that was attached to me! It added an inch or two onto me, I noticed, and was squashed up against the wall as I was enclosed in such a small space. The scales on my… tail glinted under the dim light of the single bulb. Even under just that it looked beautiful, like a thousand diamonds under the sun. I didn't know what to think of it; what to think of being a mermaid. It was pretty cool, but how was it even possible?! And why me? Was I the only one? Why was I never like this before? So many unanswered questions… Although perhaps the answer to my last question - the last one I mentioned at least, for there were many more than just that circling in my head, believe me - could have something to do with what happened last night. I couldn't think of anything else that might have triggered this recent, shall we say, development? And if it was because of last night, did that mean that Lauren and Taylor were fish too?

I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice a few minutes later when my legs reappeared. Well that was interesting - when I was dry, I had legs, but after touching water, they transformed into a tail. So I was, what, semi-mer? That made it much easier for me to live a normal life then (more sarcasm).

oOoOo

I was just rushing out of the café through the beaded curtain in the doorway, after picking up my school bag on the way, when I was stopped by my dad.

It turned out that I hadn't scooped up all the contents of my school bag, when Dad, holding up a letter, informed me, "Ryder, your mother and I just found this on the floor. It's addressed to the entire family. Why didn't you give it to us?" Dad's voice mainly stayed in a calm tone, although slight annoyance was audible.

I blinked rapidly, not knowing how to respond. I had already read the letter before re-sealing it. It was inviting our family to Paige Bond's sweet sixteen. There was no way in hell that I'd ever want to go, for the following reasons: Paige Bond was your typical Barbie girl, her brain was most likely made of plastic, and, overall, I absolutely hated her. She had made it clear that she hated me too, and the only reason I got invited to this stupid party was because my dad was her mum's ex lover. I think she still has a bit of a soft spot for my dad, and if it wasn't for that, I don't think I would have ever been invited; Paige and I were worlds apart. Sigh. If only I could go back in time and stop that crazy girl from ever having been born. Unfortunately, that was impossible. Then again, if mermaids exist, maybe it wasn't impossible... Anyway, for as long I had known Paige, she'd always thought of herself as being all that, and utterly amazing. I, on the other hand, didn't think I was all that, and knew I was amazing. Which is precisely why I was planning on disposing of the letter today - perhaps even burning it. Paige's parties were always so girly, and complete snoozefests.

"It's an invitation to a party. Paige's party. Why would you hide it? Paige is a nice girl," my dad said after a brief pause without getting a reply out of me, his voice raising ever so slightly.

"I don't want to go to Prissy Paige's stupid party!" I exclaimed, calling Paige by the nickname I had dubbed her. "It's a pool party with lots of nail painting and annoying girly talk. Plus, there's a sleepover afterwards for a selected few, and I'm one of them! They'll talk about boys and stuff; it will be painful! I hate girly things and I don't want to discuss other boys when I'm perfectly happy with my own boyfriend."

It was true that Remus O'Connelly and I were a fantastic couple. I was glad to have him and I'd rather stick to him and not drool over other boys who aren't half as nice - or good looking - as him. I didn't want to paint my nails either, or to be like the stuck up girls that did so. I just wanted to be me, and nobody else. I wanted to be my own person, doing the things I liked and going to the places I wanted.

"You're going whether you like it or not. You know her mother has been of a big help to our family," Dad finalised.

I sighed. "Do I have too?" I asked.

"Yeah, does she have to?" my mum suddenly chipped in, stopping as she walked past us and overheard us talking about this particular matter. Mum liked Paige's mum, Miriam, no more than I liked Paige. When my parents were my age, Miriam really liked my dad, although he liked my mum. The fact that a lot of drama happened is all I really know about it.

"Parents, chill," I said eventually, breaking into the firmly voiced discussion Mum and Dad were having. "Look, we can talk about this more later. I need to go to school. I'm thirty minutes late as it is!"

oOoOo

Once I was out of the door, I literally ran all the way to school. I was late for maths and didn't exactly have the most pleasant teacher, sadly. I balled my fists in frustration. Why did my dad have to make me go to Paige's stupid party? Did he expect me to adore Paige or something? Why did I have to be nice to her? Why did I have to be late for school? Of course, however bad, those were the least of my worries. I had a freaking tail, surely that had to count for something. So many unanswered questions flooded my head, making me angrier and angrier by the second…

"What the…?" I breathed as the water evaporated from a puddle of rain on the road ahead of me, steam rising from it. I was guessing this had something to do with being a mermaid? Oh God, I was going delusional, wasn't I? Or maybe I was just on one of those shows where you get famous being pranked? I hoped so. That would actually be pretty cool... Anyway, the question still remained: did I really heat up water or was it just my imagination? I had no clue.

Upon arriving at school, I was asked why I was late, and I gave about a billion excuses, the class watching me with amusement, before the lesson continued. Then finally, lunch came. Oh, glorious lunch... The time of day where I would confront Lauren and Taylor about... recent developments.

oOoOo

When the lunch bell rang, I was straight out of my classroom in a flash, and the first in the cafeteria queue. Well, maybe not the first, but close to it. They were selling pizza. I could not miss pizza. After grabbing pizza and chips, with a pudding cup for dessert, plus an orange and passion fruit J20, I scanned the canteen until I spotted Taylor and Lauren, already seated together, and walked over to join them.

"Oh, I, um, didn't expect anybody to sit with me... After yesterday... I can be a bit... awkward around people... They don't usually reacquaint with me again after an incident like the one we had yesterday..." Lauren said shyly.

"Yesterday was actually pretty funny," Taylor said, and paused briefly before adding, "and scary. My parents were so mad at me. I'm grounded for a while now. According to them, I'm a disgrace. I hopped in the bath before getting sent straight to bed."

As Taylor spoke the last sentence, she looked from me to Lauren. Was that a subtle hint towards our tails that I detected?

"I guess you know then," I mouthed to her, and she nodded quickly.

"Know what?" Lauren asked with a frown, showing that she was oblivious to what was going on. Now, I couldn't exactly blurt out, 'We're mermaids!' oh so cheerily in the middle of the school canteen, could I? And luckily, I didn't have to, as Paige's boyfriend Max neared our table. But my relief at this was short lived, as he splashed water over the three of us.

"Run!" Taylor blurted, and the both of us sprinted away from our table in the rough direction of the girls' toilets. Lauren appeared confused, but followed our lead anyway.

We made it to the toilets just in time, with milliseconds to spare before we fell face forward on the hard floor.

"Ow..." Lauren whined.

"This is the third time this has happened to me now and I still can't get over it!" Taylor muttered, paying no attention to Lauren. "How did you find out, Ryder?"

"What happened to you three ti-?" Lauren stopped mid-question, obviously just noticing our bronze scales.

"Our le-le-le-le-le-le-legs are g-g-g-g-gone!" Lauren stuttered.

I laughed at her reaction.

"Do we get them back?" she asked stupidly.

"No, the leg monster ate them," I chuckled. "What do you think?" I then asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Watch out or the head monster will get you too," Taylor added, and the two of us laughed even more, while Lauren simply sat with an expression that contained fright, shock, confusion, and lots more, all at the same time.

"We need to get rid of these tails now before anyone sees," I said more calmly a few moments later. "We'll talk more at my house later today, let's say 4pm?" I quickly scribbled my address down on their arms with a stray pen that was randomly lying on the floor beside us.

"What if we get ink poisoning?" Lauren fretted.

"Lauren, I understand you can be a bit... socially awkward," Taylor began, choosing her words carefully. "So don't take this the wrong way, but you worry way too much. Loosen up." She then turned to me. "I'm grounded, remember? I'll try to persuade my parents, but..."

"Okay. Now, let's dry off." I quickly made a fist, drying myself, then Taylor, and finally Lauren off.

"Ouch, you're burning me!" Lauren cried when it was her turn. "Stop, please!"

"Fine. There's just one consequence: you might end up being, you know, dissected."

"It doesn't hurt that much," Taylor commented, not even questioning what I was doing, and just going with the flow, I guess.

I started drying off Lauren again, and didn't stop even when she held up her hand in a stop sign, pain visible on her face. It only took seconds until she was back in her human form.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" I inquired. "Now, come on, let's get going." I attempted to make my way out of the toilets, along with the others, but for some reason, my feet wouldn't move. I looked down at them.

"Uh... guys...?" I said, and motioned towards my feet as they turned back to me, which were now frozen to the floor.

"How did that happen?" Taylor asked no one in particular.

I pointed towards Lauren.

"Me?" she questioned sceptically.

"I think so," I replied. "Do that stop sign again with your hand, but aim it at... the water dripping from the tap," I instructed.

"It's not working. It must have been Taylor," Lauren insisted after about ten seconds of trying to freeze the water with a very shaky flattened out palm.

Taylor shrugged, and tried to freeze the droplets, but it was to no avail. Then I tested it myself to see if I had two powers, though I was still positive it was Lauren. That was in vain too.

"Lauren, try again," I commanded her. "Hold your hand still, and have faith in yourself."

Lauren gave a doubtful look then took a deep breath and positioned her hand once more. She concentrated on the water she was supposed to freeze, until we heard a faint crackling sound, as if it was becoming ice. Taylor walked closer to the tap to double check, and, sure enough, the droplet hanging from the tap was solid ice. Lauren did it!

"I knew you could do it," I smiled.

"So you two both have weird powers... What's mine then?" Taylor asked, sounding slightly annoyed that she didn't know.

"I guess we can find out later, or tomorrow. Lunch is probably over by now and I have Mr Seping for my next lesson; you know what a rough teacher he can be. I'd better go. We can talk later, maybe over the phone even if not in person. You've got my number, right Tay? Pass it on the Lauren."

Taylor nodded silently, and the three of us went to leave. But then I remembered that I was stuck. I was about to call the others back for help, but then I recalled that I had the power to melt it. I mentally face palmed myself for being prepared to wait it out, before melting the ice.

oOoOo

When Dad saw what I was wearing for Prissy Paige's party - an Aztec printed top and some high-waisted shorts - he was less than pleased. Although he came around when I instead offered to wear an extremely short, extremely tight, leather skirt. As for Mum, she was on my side the whole time (although I knew she was more concerned about Miriam still have feelings for Zane than for my boredom, despite the fact that she was married). She had insisted to Dad that the party wasn't my scene, and I shouldn't be forced to go, yet I, unfortunately, still had to. Before I left, Mum constantly reminded me to call her if any problems arise. I was sure they would, but none that I could really tell Mum, meaning water problems.

Once I was ready for the dumb party, Dad drove me there. When we pulled up into the driveway, I registered the silk, sequinned drapes hanging from hot pink gates with security in front of them. This was going to be a long, nightmarish evening.

oOoOo

After getting through security, I was solo. I decided I would just hang around at this 'fabulous' party for a few hours then return home, skipping the sleepover, and wouldn't stop going on about the fun I had. Perhaps that way he wouldn't be so reluctant to not make me go.

"Hi," Paige said as I passed her at one point.

"What?" I asked rudely.

"Do you like water?" Paige inquired randomly.

I nodded, confused. Was this meant to be a brain teaser or something?

"Well why don't you go for a dive then?" Max asked, and he and his friends jumped out of a bush and threw me into the pool. I was in a state of shock and panic, but mostly frustrated. Did they think it would be fun just to push me into the pool? They didn't actually count on me turning into a fish though, I'll bet.

As they stood, wiping tears from their eyes from the laughter, I felt a tingling sensation travel through my body. I was going to transform any second! Thinking fast, I balled a hand into a fist, and a cloud of steam filled the pool and its surroundings.

"I can't see a thing!" Paige complained. "Why are you such a freak? You had something to do with this Bennett, didn't you? I bet my make-up and hair are all ruined now! You should just leave!"

"Yeah," Ashley (Paige's follower) added.

"Bye Prissy... I mean... Paige!" I exclaimed, and quickly made my getaway as the steam cleared.

"And you've drained the pool too!" Paige streamed, turning towards me as I ran. I chuckled the whole way out. The expression on her face was priceless. Then her parents walked in and they were freaking out over her hair and make-up being ruined. It was pretty hilarious, yet scary. I was almost exposed!

**A.N: Ryder almost exposed! 2/3 found their power. Lauren is getting even more pathetic. We found our mean girl. They all know about their tails. **

**Very exciting, right? A massive thanks to my beta too- ****KitKatEmerald. So just carry on following, reviewing, reading and favouriting :)**


	3. Legs Be Gone

**A.N: Once again thanks to my amazing beta- KitKatEmerald.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned H2O, would I be writing fanfiction? I don't own H2O at all!**

**Lauren's P.O.V**

_03. Legs Be Gone_

I sat in the bathtub, staring at the long, scaly tail that was in place of my legs in disbelieving shock. It had been a few days since the other girls and I were stranded on Mako Island, and I still hadn't quite gotten used to what happened. It was kind of... surprising, to say the least. So I had found that sitting in the tub of steaming water with ear buds stuck in my ears was a real stress reliever.

"Mum and Dad want to speak to us about something important." I gave a startled jump at the sound of my older brother Charlie's voice coming from the other side of the door.

I quickly recomposed myself and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear before sweetly replying, "Sure Charlie. I'll be out in a flash."

I never actually imagined that getting out of the bath with my tail would be so hard. I managed to scrape myself against the edge, before swinging over the side to the floor. Unfortunately, for some insane reason, I had assumed I would now be standing on my two feet, completely forgetting that I had a tail. I'd thought I would be fine, until I remembered that I, well, didn't exactly have any feet right now. But by the time that thought popped into my head, it was too late; I'd already collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, obviously having heard the loud noise I made thanks to the extra weight my tail gave me.

"Yeah, just a bit sore," I lied weakly as a sharp pain travelled up my spine. "I fell." But the pain began to worsen, and eventually made its way up to my head, making a small moan escape my lips.

"I'm coming in; I'll help you back up. I do care about you... even if I don't tell you." Charlie jiggled the doorknob.

I gasped inwardly. I couldn't let him see me like this! I quickly raised my hand out of panic, freezing the doorknob - this was the second best way to keep anyone out of the bathroom, after I had evidently forgotten to lock the door.

"It won't open," Charlie said, sounding confused, and I heard the doorknob making more frantic noises as he applied more force to it.

I hesitated. "I have something to tell you," I said after a moment, my voice wobbling. I didn't know what to do, so I was going to come clean about my tail. I had been an idiot to think I could hide something like that. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I had the chance to say what I wanted, my legs reappeared. Okay then, I suppose I could keep my secret for a little longer.

I pulled the plug out of the bath, making sure to only lightly touch the very top part of the chain so that I wouldn't get wet and grow my tail again, before composing myself again. I took a deep breath before opening the door and walking out - I had changed before my bath as my clothes would disappear once I got in anyway.

"The door was locked," I said to my brother with a smug smile, holding up the key which I had grabbed just before I exited.

oOoOo

Upon entering the living room, I came face to face with my parents who were staring blankly at the doorway. I stupidly glanced back over my shoulder, thinking that they were looking at another person. But I quickly shook away my idiocy and turned back to my parents, only to see my mum patting the sofa, signalling for me to sit down. I warily obeyed.

My mum cleared her throat. "We have some..." she trailed off before bursting into tears mid-sentence. I offered a comforting hand. Maybe she lost her job? Well, whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad, because my dad never gets upset, yet his face was twisted in a sad expression too.

Whilst my mother gently cried, my dad spoke the dreaded words that Mum had been about to say. "Your Grandmother Paisley has passed away," he said softly. "The nursing home rung us last night. She had a heart attack. When they came to her room to call for dinner... she was already gone." Dad solemnly bowed his head.

Charlie tearfully nodded, understanding. My sister Freya turned her head towards the wall. She wasn't that bothered but still gave a moment of silence for our grandmother. I, however, didn't have a clue how to react. A single tear rolled down my cheek, then another, and another, and before I knew it, I was crying harder than Mum.

Charlie tightly squeezed my hand. "It's okay."

I shook my head, my eyes screwed shut. He didn't understand. Out of the three of us, I was the closest to Paisley. We would always knit, and watch all her favourite quiz shows together: Eggheads, the Chase, Tipping Point, Pointless... We enjoyed writing letters together, painting, arranging flowers, cooking... My grandma was everything to me. I had never been as close to anyone else as I was to her. I never worried whether she would judge me or anything like that. Not that it even mattered anymore, now that she was gone...

"May I be excused?" I inquired politely after I had calmed down a little, and Mum nodded.

I grabbed my leather purse before running out the door. I desperately needed to escape the house; too many memories of Paisley lay there. She would come over to the house every Thursday and Sunday, where we would do all sorts of things together. My favourite was when we would go upstairs to my bedroom together and she would tell me stories. I would hang on to her every word. Just thinking about it was painful. Luckily, I actually had somewhere to go: it was 3:30 so I had to head away to meet up with the others.

oOoOo

Glancing at the smear of ink on my arm, I aimlessly wandered around Boyle Avenue in a futile attempt to locate Ryder's house. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten about the scribbled out address on my arm before I had hopped in the bath earlier, and I had forgotten to transfer it to paper, and so now, the only record I had of the address was nothing but a terrible smudge. That's why I was now circling in a seemingly never ending avenue in search for Ryder - and Taylor if she was already there. I wasn't even sure that Boyle Avenue was the right street. I'd faintly remembered Ryder writing Boyle Avenue a little before, but it wasn't definite that I was in the right place. Just a guess.

I tried to stay calm. "What was it that Ryder was telling me before? Something regarding a café...? Rikki's Café... was that it?" I murmured to myself. I was pretty sure it was, so I quickly grabbed my little pink Nokia mobile from my pocket and searched up the café on Google. I was hoping it would give me a hint as to where Ryder lived exactly, as I had (very stupidly) forgotten to store the other girls' numbers in my phone, and I had left the sheet of paper with their numbers written on at home.

It only took me a few minutes to find a contact number for the owners, otherwise known as Ryder's parents. Hopefully, whoever answered would be able to give me Ryder's address. Taking a deep breath, I tapped the green dial symbol and pressed my now ringing phone against my left ear.

"H-hello. I am L-Lauren Eloise Jones, and I would like to... to retrieve contact information on-" I began to stammer out before I was cut off by the voice on the other end.

"Okay," she said cheerily. "Just give me your details and I'll get the manager to sort out your issues via phone shortly. Of course, there is a waiting list to contact him, and so it may take up to sixty business days to arrange an appointment with him. Zane - the manager - is in London at this moment, for we are excited to announce that the café is going global. He won't be getting back for a few more hours."

"That would be... fantastic, but-" I stopped short as I was interrupted again.

"Perfect. I think it would be better if you discuss with the manager in person. Actually, I would suggest you speak to the co-manager but she'll be busy all of this next week. I wish I could be of more help," the woman apologised.

"Listen," I started, anger driving me to speak a whole sentence to a stranger without stuttering, "I don't want to insult you, but you are NO help. You never even let me finish a-" for the third time, the woman cut me off.

"Don't worry, I understand. You're getting a bit restless that you can't talk business with the owners and I won't even let you finish the paperwork you're doing. Maybe we can talk later, after you finished work? Just ask for Cheryl when you ring again," the woman - Cheryl - said, and with that, she ended the phone call.

I sighed. One step forward, two steps back. Cheryl wouldn't let me get a few words in and somehow gathered I wanted to talk business. Now I had to find a new way of finding out which house belonged to Ryder and her family.

Soon enough, I decided to be logical about the situation and knock on a random house to ask the owners if they knew the Bennetts. And thanks to my splendid social skills - because I am just the best at communicating with random people - that went fabulously well (she said sarcastically).

I hurried to the front door of the house I was nearest to and knocked. "Hello..." I began as the door swung open. "This may sound peculiar from a stranger... but I... I basically need you... he-e-elp..." I struggled to get my words out.

"Speak," the chestnut-haired man who answered the door said, patting me gently on the back.

"Do-you-know-where-the-Bennets-live?" I asked all on a rush of air, so fast that I said each word as one together. "I'm a friend," I quickly added.

The man just nodded his head warily, the slowly backed away into his house. Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched squeal, coming from the girl who was now standing behind him who I assumed was his daughter.

"What are you doing here, freak?" Paige cried as she stepped forward.

"I-I must be going," I said, turning away. "I am so sorry to trouble you. I guess you don't know where Ryder Bennett lives," I added, turning back to face the man.

As I looked back, Paige ushered me away with a flick of her wrist. She then sent me a death glare, flicked her hair, then turned her back to me and walked back inside her mansion, her stiletto heels making such loud noises on the floor that I jumped.

"They live at number nineteen, honey," the man whispered to me, sounding vaguely worried, before slamming the door shut.

Clearly, Paige's father - or whoever he was - was much nicer than her. He appeared somewhat scared of her, in fact. I shivered at the thought of what her mother must be like; she had to have inherited her cold-blooded ways from somewhere. Either way, it didn't matter. I'd hopefully never have to face her. I knew where Ryder lived, and now everything was fine.

oOoOo

Once I arrived at house number nineteen, I lightly knocked on the front door. After a moment or two, the door was opened to reveal a woman with shocking blue eyes, beautiful wheat-coloured and pin-straight hair, and soft red lips.

"Hello," she greeted me, looking mildly surprised to see a teenage girl on her doorstep. "I'm Rikki. And you are...?"

"I am... Ryder Bennett's... Ryder's friend? I'm-" I mumbled.

"Ah, you must be Lauren," she interrupted me, smiling warmly. "Taylor's already with Ryder in her bedroom. It's just up the stairs and the second room to the right," she directed me, with a beaming grin.

Stepping forward into the house, my jaw dropped. This place was a mansion! I knew Ryder was rich, but not this rich. Taking in my glorious surroundings, I slowly walked up the stairs and made my way to Ryder's room, where I came face to face with my new friends. They looked mad at me for being so late, but their expressions softened once I explained about my grandma's death, the smudge, and the incident with Paige.

"You poor thing," Taylor said sympathetically, draping an arm around my neck in a small but friendly hug. "She's in a better place now."

"I'm not really good with this stuff, but I know that it'll be okay. You have us now. We'll look out for you." Ryder patted my knee gently.

A tear rolled down my cheek. What they just said meant the world to me - heck, it meant the world for me to actually have friends for once, after years of fitting in absolutely nowhere.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, and suddenly started to feel a little awkward. "Let's get on with what we're here for," I suggested. The others nodded in agreement.

"What I figured out," Ryder explained, "is that it takes around ten to fifteen seconds after we touch water for our tails to grow. So if we get wet in public, I suppose we'll just have to run and hope for the best - somewhere that nobody else is, that is to say. We have those weird hand-motion powers too. Mine is heat, Lauren, yours is ice, and Taylor... we have no idea."

"All I've discovered, really, is that even a single drop of water can transform us, so we need to be extra cautious of it," I chipped in.

"And it all had something to do with Mako and that weird cave and pool," Taylor added.

"And so we will go back," Ryder concluded.

"NO!" I shouted, and the other two looked at me in slight surprise at my outburst. "I will not go there again. The first time was bad enough, thank you very much," I backed out, more calm this time.

"Fine. Taylor and I will go. How does tomorrow sound?"

"I'm busy tomorrow, so you're on your own. Sorry," Tay apologised

In the end, we decided that Ryder would return to the island tomorrow by herself, whilst Taylor would find out some answers to as many questions as possible, and I would research mermaids in the library (this was going to be interesting; a sixteen year old girl reading up on mermaids...). After deciding that, Ryder got some scrap paper out of a drawer on her desk, grabbed a pen, and we started to brainstorm questions on the paper. After ten minutes, we came up with seven questions:

1. How long exactly does it take for us to transform?

2. How much water is needed for us to transform?

3. What is Taylor's power?

4. How did this happen?

5. Why did this happen?

6. How can we get out of swimming class?

7. Do we look sexy with tails?

Well, six if you don't count the last one, which, by the way, was written by Ryder.

"Well, we can find out the answers to questions one and two now, I suppose," Ryder said, and dropped the tiniest bit of water on my arm - so small that it was barely visible.

"Oh no," I gasped, and soon enough, I had flopped down with a loud BANG! as I hit the floor.

"What's going on?!" Rikki called from downstairs, and we heard her running up the stairs. My eyes widened - she was running so fast that even with Ryder drying me off, we would be caught for sure. Just as the door open, Taylor stretched her arm out on impulse and the water in a glass on Ryder's desk shot out and catapulted itself towards Rikki, and hit her right in the face. Luckily, she took a few startled steps back and by the time she got back to the doorway, eyes narrowed, I was dried off and casually leaning against Ryder's desk.

"What happened in here?" Rikki asked suspiciously.

"Uh, sorry Mum, something fell off my desk," Ryder quickly lied.

"And the water?"

"Lauren went to get that glass of water for me," she said, gesturing to the glass of water which the water had flown out of, "but she tripped as she was walking back and some water spilt out. Sorry."

Rikki rolled her eyes, and I panicked, thinking that she could see straight through the lie, but then she said, "Honestly Ryder, you're so lazy. Get it yourself next time." And with that, she closed the door.

"That was close," I said, collapsing onto Ryder's bed, as Rikki's footsteps faded.

"I know," Taylor agreed.

"Anyway," Ryder put in, "it took you exactly 10.34 seconds to transform, so basically ten seconds." She paused while Taylor scribbled that down on the scrap paper. "And it was only a teensy drop of water, so there we go, two birds with one stone," she said cheerily as Taylor wrote down the answer to our second question.

"Actually, it seems that we're pretty good at... bird hunting?" Taylor said the last part sounding unsure, the continued, "Because we also found out what my power was."

"Try it out again, just to be sure," I instructed, and so she outstretched her arm once again, and the same thing happened. It was definitely her.

After Taylor had finished beaming at her power, she spoke up again. "I've got to go. See you guys at school?"

"Sure," Ryder said, nodding.

"I'd best go too," I said, and so Taylor and I left together, after waving goodbye to Ryder. For once, I felt exceptionally pleased. This could be the beginning of a wonderful friendship between three extraordinary girls, me being one of them...

oOoOo

**A.N: Sorry for the extra long wait, I got lazy and the internet was down. Please review your ideas for the future plot or what you would like to see your favourite character do.**


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